Tailor-made ATVMs at Andheri station soon

In a move that would hearten commuters who have to wait in long queues to purchase train tickets, the Western Railway is introducing custom-made Automatic Ticket Vending Machines (ATVMs) that would dispense tickets to a specific railway station. After conducting a study at several stations over the past month, railway officials found that nearly 50,000 tickets are sold daily at Andheri Railway station, and would now install new ATVMs at the station.

After conducting a study at several stations over the past month, railway officials found that nearly 50,000 tickets are sold daily at Andheri railway station. It was also observed that maximum ticket purchases were made for Kandivali, Mahim and Parel railway stations. Representation pic

It was also observed that maximum ticket purchases were made for Kandivali, Mahim and Parel railway stations from the station. So by tweaking the software, the new ATVMs would dispense tickets to only these three stations at the touch of a button. “We installed the customised ATVMs at Andheri on trial basis and got a positive response. We are now in the process to set up few machines on a permanent basis in a month’s time so that commuters are benefited,” said Iti Pandey, senior DCM, WR.

“We found that majority of tickets sold at Andheri station were for Parel, Mahim and Kandivali stations. By modifying the software, we are able to generate tickets for these specific stations at a push of the button, thereby lessening the queue at booking counters,” said an official from the Western Railway. Railway authorities have also short listed Dadar, Kandivli and Mahim railways stations where the customised ATVMs would be installed in the future. Presently, WR has 195 ATVMs at different stations on the suburban section that dispense tickets for all stations.